Folks,

Looking for some assistance. I found a great deal on Alpine Amp for my 05 Super Crew.

My question to this forum is how to wire it? I have an Kenwood KDX 5212 aftermarket radio (Sirius/GPS). I did not install the radio but would like to try to install the Amp. If possible, I'll probably put it under the rear seat or the passenger seat.

I'm not sure how to a) run the wires to the battery and find a good ground and b) how and where to run the wires to the HU.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks all,

E.

 

Sounds like your not familiar with 12V audio . I would find someone that is, and watch and learn .You could also take it to your local stereo store .

 

Keep in mind also that if a shop installed your indash, removing yourself may boid the warranty.

 

Well you came here looking for advice, and you're gonna get it. Disclaimer, know your limits when working with your vehicle, especially because a small slip could be disasterous! If you come in contact with something you are not familiar with, research your next step or have someone else help you or do it for you who is familiar with it.

First of all, what year is your truck? Does it have a column shifter or a center-console shifter? Also, what kind of cab is it? Super cab? Super crew? Standard cab?

 

it's an 05 Screw, lariat. I think I found some good info on this site, the only bug I'm seeing is how to remove the Kenwood (pull out) radio. I don't have the skinny rods to push on the sides of the radio to pull out. I think I figured out how to remove the center console (above the ashtray).

Amp will be here next Monday so project starts next week.

 

They used a cage to mount your Kenwood double din? The only car ive ever seen/done that in was a Veedub GTI. You should be able to pop of your dash trim bezel and the headunit should be held in using 4 screws.

 

Ok, cool. I was going by the Kenwood PDF file on removing radio. I know I'll have a much better ideal when I remove the center console. I wish removing the back seats was not so complicated, I'd love to mount the amp on a board back there. Because of the vents under the front seats, there's really no other place then under the back seats to mount the amp is there?

 

Id man up and take the back seats off. There are a lot of threads on here that have step by step instructions. If you do have to do it under the back seat, id do it under the 40 portion and build a little rack to keep it up off the floor.

 

Thanks Sundevil but I've looked (and search for threads on how to remove the back seat of an 05' Screw) but couldn't see anything illustrated, any help you can provide would be appreciated.

I received the amp today, it came with the power cable and fuse + holder but it had no ground wire nor the amp '' on '' wire.

Any ideals where I can find these? Home depot? If so, what gauge?

Thanks again for the help.

E.

 

Go to your local Car Audio store and buy like 3-4 ft of ground cable (same gauge size as your power cable) and get like 15 ft of 18 or 20 awg for the remote turn on wire. Shouldn't cost more then 10 or 12 bucks total.

 

Cool, thanks.

Don't I need more than 3 - 4 ft of ground cable? I thought I had to run it to the motor as with the power cable? (18 ft or so) or do I need to ground close to the Amp instead of the motor? If so, where in the cabin?

 

ya, i just installed my amp and all that not too long ago. i would definately go with mounting it on the back wall though. best place in our year model. as far as taking the back seat off, there are some photos around here, cant remember where exactly they were though. i can tell you what i did though. Take off the middle seat belt plastic thing and let it hang down. The open the door, sit in the opening, with the hand that on the inside of the truck grab the bottom corner of the back of the seat and pull out, then with your outter hand reach back and around and there is a plastic j hook holding the seat on (a nice estimate of where it is, is close to the farthest outisde anchor between the seat back and seat). pull the j hook as you push down on the back of the seat. Youll feel it release, then you can pull the seat up and out. hope that helps. i would keep searching around though and see if you can find some pics, because that really helps

what wattage is your amp though? i went with 4 gauge wire since i have a 1000 watt amp.

for a ground wire, get a 0/1 gauge wire, connect it to your amp, grind down to clean bare metal on your back seat mount, and attach it there. for your amp on wire, you can go with just a 'normal' wire that runs from your headunit back to the amp.

as to where to buy wiring and stuff, i got mine from best buy. best deal i found found for being able to drive somewhere and get it. you can find them cheaper online, but i didnt wanna bother with waiting on shipping anymore. haha.

 

Ok, good to know, so you mounted your ground on the back seat frame?

Does it make a diference if on the motor (say same bolt as the ground for the battery?) vs the frame of the back seat? Any specific location?

How about the fuse? Near the battery or in the back?

Found some good info on seat removal so I think I'm going to mount it on the behind the back seat.

Did you remove the carpet or just screwed into the carpet in the metal frame?

Thanks,

 

Fuse as close to the battery as you can get it.

The body of the truck will conduct the ground as well as wire (the battery and block are also grounded to the body), no need to run it all the way to the front. Check for a solid ground with a multimeter, and clean any paint off before attaching the ground terminal.

 

Wattage doesnt have anything to do with your gauge of wire. Its all about how long your wire run is and how much current your amplifier can draw.